Knights of the Sky
by KV1789
Summary: In 2031, the Infinite Stratos Suits have now become unisex battle armors that will soon replace all conventional military fighting vehicles. But as mass production of the suits becomes widespread, a new world threat emerges. In this new generation of warfare, a new generation of heroes will rise: the Knights of the Sky. (An Ace Combat-inspired AU)


**KotS Timeline**

 **2021** \- The country of Japan is attacked by 2,341 missiles (All kinds of missiles!) launched by an unknown hacker or hacker group. The "Infinite Stratos" powered armor suit makes its grand appearance by destroying all missiles. The suit is codenamed "White Knight" due to its white armor. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian and American militaries try to make contact with its pilot, but after pilot does not respond, they attack it with countless naval and air forces. Almost all deployed troops are disabled with no loss of human life. The creator of the suits, Japanese scientist Tabane Shinonono, reveals herself to the world and how to create and use Stratos Suits and distributes the 467 Power/AI Cores before mysteriously disappearing. Multiple manhunts are launched to find her which continues until the present day. Japan is scrutinized for possible government involvement in developing the powered armor. Stratos Suits are discovered to be only usable by women as any male who tries to pilot one is violently ejected.

 **2022 to 2028** \- Alaska Treaty banning use of Stratos Suits in military operations is implemented. Women become dominant gender. Stratos Suit research booms. Infinite Stratos Academy (ISA) is established in Japan with multiple sub-branches around the world.

 **2029** \- Team of hackers and intelligence agencies locate Tabane Shinonono's private server and recover data on how to create IS Cores and to configure Stratos Suits to be usable by men but are unable to pinpoint her location before her security network locks them out. Her server is never found again. World governments announce discovery and proceed to develop unisex Stratos Suits. Alaska Treaty obligations are modified (Stratos Suits will be under jurisdiction of military but are not to be used in actual combat, only as deterrence weapons similar to nuclear weapons).

 **2030** \- ISA and its sub-branches start accepting male candidates and are placed under the management of their respective countries' militaries. Genders slowly become equal. Field testing of new prototype unisex suits begins.

 **2031** \- JSDF and multiple world militaries begin creation of first male-integrated Stratos Trooper units. Military analysts predict that a new era of warfare is about to begin as the Alaska Treaty might eventually be terminated and Stratos Suits will slowly replace conventional military fighting vehicles in the next few decades.

* * *

It's been two years. Two years of unholy lectures, merciless tests, high-tech gladiator battles with powered armor, and most of all, being one of the only few guys in the entire batch of upcoming Stratos Troopers...

...god damn. Some two years huh?

"SERGEANT ORIMURA! Move your ass! This exercise doesn't wait for anyone!"

Oh, right. I'm on my way to take the "final exam" or officially, the "final evaluation exercise" for the JASDF Stratos Trooper Squadron. Before I forget, I think I should introduce myself to you. My name is Ichika Orimura. Or to be more formal, Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Staff Sergeant Ichika Orimura, Stratos Trooper Cadet, Class of 2031 to 2033...

...phew! What a mouthful!

Anyway, I'm sure you'd be wondering what this "Stratos Trooper" thing is about, so I might as well explain. The Stratos Troopers are the branch of the JASDF which pilot the Infinite Stratos Suits or Stratos Suits. Back in the day, we called it "IS", but because this terrorist group in the Middle East had the same name, the world simply decided that "Stratos Suit" would be a more better term to avoid confusion.

I'm also sure that you'd be wondering what's a Stratos Suit is. I'll try to keep it brief, 'cause the history of those metal monstrosities of doom is pretty long. So Stratos Suits are a kind of power armor that was made ten years ago. They became public knowledge after a RIDICULOUS amount of missiles were launched at Japan.

Yes. Some nutjob REALLY wanted to turn the whole country into a nuclear wasteland or something.

This mysterious Stratos Suit, codenamed "White Knight", saved the country by destroying all the missiles. But afterwards, China, Korea, Russia, America and us sent out forces to take down the suit (Because sending your military to destroy you is a new way of saying hello nowadays)...

...and they all failed. Without losing a single soldier. I kid you not.

After the incident, this Japanese scientist named Tabane Shinonono (Why does that name seem so familiar?) revealed to the world how to make and use these suits. Although, what the female, Japanese Tony Stark didn't tell us was how to make more of the IS Cores needed to power the suits. What she also didn't tell us was that the suits could only be used by women. So I guess it's safe to say that White Knight was a lady, huh?

Then because of the sheer power of these things, the UN implemented the Alaska Treaty to prevent the suits for use in war. But right now, I think that treaty is becoming pointless by each passing day. In 2029, some hackers and agencies found out how to make more Cores and to make the suits unisex, they started mass-producing them...yadayadayada...the rest is history.

You'd probably be asking: What's my story? Honestly, I wasn't supposed to be in the JSDF, but they conduct these annual "candidate tests" on the general public to see who would meet the standards for possible Stratos Suit pilots. I happened to be one of the possible pilots. My sister, Chifuyu, is in the JSDF (And truth be told, her career there is what funded my education so I thank them for that) so I didn't want to disappoint her. The pilot candidates could refuse and go on to normal college, but I didn't. I might as well repay her by being a Stratos Trooper, eh?

Those two years were quite awkward and interesting. I mean, being one of the only guys in the entire batch (The girl candidates outnumbered the male candidates by a REALLY LARGE amount), you'd think that being surrounded by lots of girls would be awesome, right? I disagree! It was so weird having loads of women who you barely know stare and gawk at you every day. I mean, what if I screw up when I do something? What if go to the locker room and accidentally walk in on some girls undressing? I'm no pervert! Think of all the rumors and embarrassment that would happen!

For the interesting part, it was at the Academy where I got reunited with an old friend of mine from before. Her name was Houki Shinokoto. We used to train together in kendo and were classmates in grade school before she moved out to somewhere. I could describe her as your regular Japanese girl, although not quite that regular when I think about it. She had brunette hair, which was almost always tied up in a shoulder-length ponytail. A quite firm and slender build which was a product of her kendo training. Things between us were somewhat dysfunctional at times because she has this habit of whacking me with any long object she could find whenever she got..."irritated" by something I do. I can't recall how many times she got punished by the officers for that. Her presence comforted me, though. At least I knew somebody in the school who I could probably rely on...

But I wonder why she didn't pursue her professional kendo career? I guess I'll never know. She always kept her mouth shut or gave me different reasons whenever I asked her about that.

Now back to my current situation. One of the instructors here at the Academy was rushing me and the rest of my graduating class to the exercise field. All of us are supposed to assemble before we actually proceed to the final test for real. I was trying so hard not to slip. For a military training facility, they really love to polish these gray floors to perfection.

After like 15 minutes or so, me and the rest of my class reached the exercise field. The instructor was rushing the cadets who were lagging behind. I could still hear him yelling stuff like: "Move it, you faggots!", "WALK! MY GRANDMA CAN TIPTOE FASTER THAN YOU!" and stuff like that. I guess he was a fan of R. Lee Ermey.

On the exercise field, Stratos Suits were prepped for our use. Out of the many cadets at the beginning of the two-year course, only a handful passed, including yours truly. I'm actually very amazed that I made it this far. Although it seems that out of the handful, most of the passers were girls. The only guys who passed were me and four others. We weren't really close, however.

The number of Stratos Suits on the field were equivalent to how many people passed. Aside from the suits, JASDF personnel and the other Academy instructors and personnel were present at the field together with multiple Eurocopter EC 225s and Bell UH-1s. I guess they were all there to witness the test.

"ATTENTION ALL CADETS! ASSEMBLE NOW!" I heard a familiar voice order us. As all of us rushed to formation, I looked among the military officers and instructors and saw a face I knew all too well. It was Chifuyu. Or JASDF Lieutenant Colonel Chifuyu Orimura to be formal.

You already know that my older sis' in the military, but she's not just in the military, she's one of the world's first and best Stratos Suit pilots! And before that, she was one of the best JASDF pilots, being a former leader of the Blue Impulse aerobatic demo squadron. She even taught some air forces worldwide.

Beside her was our flight safety instructor, Second Lieutenant Maya Yamada. Compared to my sister, who was frowning seriously as usual, Lt. Maya was smiling gently as she watched us form up. For an instructor, Lt. Maya was extremely kind and approachable compared to the other instructors. Maybe that was because she was the youngest instructor, with Chifuyu being second.

At the beginning of our training, the girls usually swooned or got excited whenever my sister would teach us Stratos Suit operation. They would beg her to...how do I say this...uhhh..."punish" them more? Maybe that has something to do with the fact that she is one of the most famous Stratos Troopers in the world and an international women's idol? I think they must have learned since then, because now none of them scream or freak out compared to last year.

That's the Chifuyu Orimura Training Method™ at work there for ya.

All of us stood at attention as Chifuyu announced our final test.

"Cadets! As you already know, it has been two years since you first entered the Academy for your training to become registered Stratos Suit pilots. Now today, we will see the fruit of your labors. The evaluation test today will see if all of you truly have the capabilities to become a Stratos Trooper. But that is not the only objective this exam has. This test will also determine if the five men present in this batch have what it takes to become the first male Stratos Troopers of the country of Japan."

I could feel the tension lingering in the air. This was it! The final step to becoming one of Japan's protectors and a pilot of the world's second most dangerous weapon (Because nuclear bombs still reign supreme when it comes to mass or more correctly, global destruction).

"The test will be a fully-fledged joint exercise with the JMSDF. It will be a theoretical air and sea battle with an enemy air force and navy. All of you will be facing unmanned, AI-controlled warplanes and ships with a hyper-realistic AI that will mimic human skills. They will not hold back on all of you until your Stratos Suit activates its Absolute Defense Barrier. Once it does, you will be considered defeated and failed in the test."

The JSDF officers were all observing us while the JSDF's media department was filming us. Ugh! The pressure! When Chifuyu stopped talking, Lt. Maya spoke.

"Don't forget everything you learned in operating the Stratos Suits, everyone! Your actions will be the primary determinant in this exercise. Please don't fail, okay?"

Her gentle voice assured us all that we could do this. I could see everyone exhale and their shoulders relax a little. I looked at Houki. I swear I saw her glance at me for a second before turning her head away. Even she was pretty tensed up like me.

"TROOPERS! SUIT UP!" I heard Chifuyu say. In an instant, all of us mounted the suits provided. We were wearing the specialized Stratos Flight Suit, a semi-skintight suit that the powered armor would mount the additional body armor for our protection on and would link the suits' movements to our bodies. I inserted both of my lower legs into the slots for them. The "boost limbs" locked themselves into place. Armored plating encased my thighs and upper arms. An armored chestplate with a survival apparatus encased my chest, with the main booster unit mounting itself on my back. My forearms and hands were covered with auxiliary robotic hand-limbs that would copy my hands' movements. Finally, a helmet encased my head, its HUD lighting up immediately after, showing the shield level and power level of the suit alongside my health. Suit power was at 500% capacity. Shield was at 100%. My health was stable. Perfect.

The Stratos Suit we all were using was called the eXperimental Infinite Stratos "Uchigane Kai" 3rd Generation Unisex Model. This wasn't the 2nd Gen training model anymore. It was the real deal. With built in miniaturization technology, the suit packed 20 Lance missiles, dual .55 caliber hi-penetration machine guns and a Beam Katana. Enough to wipe out a small army given the right tactics. The suit itself resembled a white and gray, high-tech samurai armor with jet engine "wings". On the thigh armor was the red sun roundel of the JASDF with the acronym beside it. The "wings" had a number on it. Mine read "13".

Shit. There goes my luck.

Houki's read "12". I could tell it was her because the chestplate-mounted survival apparatus was jutting out more. You see, compared to a normal, Japanese girl, Houki had a...well...muuuch...larger...chest. (I'm not a pervert, I swear! It's just an observation!) Looks like puberty was very generous towards her.

A small profile of Chifuyu's face appeared on the upper left of the HUD with a sound visualizer under it.

"All cadets. Proceed to the marked coordinates on your Tactical Map and standby for the beginning of the test. Now go!" She said with an authoritative frown. All of us engaged the levitation and after reaching the optimal height from the ground, activated the boosters. Soon enough, we were flying away from the field and into the sky. I saw everyone on the field board the choppers before I lost sight of them.

* * *

We reached 9000 feet before holding the altitude. We maintained our suits at a fast speed while heading to an area southeast of the Academy where the JMSDF was waiting for us.

"Hey Orimura...some day huh?" one of the male pilots said to me. I don't exactly remember the names of everyone present since we didn't socialize very often, but I think the guy was Staff Sergeant Houma Nikijima. He sounded nervous. Well...just like me.

"Heh. Yeah..." I replied. I couldn't think of anything else to say back. His voice sounded very nervous. Well, obviously because of what's at stake at the moment.

"Definitely 'some day', Houma. I can't believe that after this, we become fully-fledged Stratos Troopers!" Another guy said in response. He sounded more excited that Sgt. Nikijima, although I didn't remember his name.

"Don't get too confident," a female cadet said to them. "All that training will be for nuthin' if ya'll fail today."

Everyone else started talking to each other while I kept quiet. But out of the blue, Houki started talking to me via private transmission.

"Umm...Ichika?"

"Yes, Houki?"

"I...uhhh...just wanna...say...I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Remember when I always get sent to the brig for...hitting you?"

"Err...yeah."

"It was wrong of me to do that...almost every time I disagreed with you."

Weeeeeell...I wasn't expecting that today. Kinda weird that she picked today outta all days to say that. Although honestly, I didn't mind it. Houki was always like that. Even when we were kids. What confuses me is why she kept doing that even though she obviously knew she was wrong?

I guess that's a question only Houki can answer.

"Uhhh...it's...okay. I don't hold any hard feelings towards you."

"W-What? R-Really?"

"No! Of course not. I can never get angry at you."

Honestly, I was just saying that to comfort her. She is my friend, and we have to look out for each other.

"...you're lying, Ichika."

"I'm not lying! Honest!"

Houki made a smug "Hmph!" sound before Chifuyu interrupted my squadmates' chatter.

Lt. Col. Chifuyu Orimura

[Attention, Cadet Squadron. Do you read me? Respond, over.]

Everyone fell silent. Our lead member replied.

"Lt. Col. Orimura. This is Cadet 1. We read you loud and and clear."

Lt. Col. Chifuyu Orimura

[Good. For the final exercise, you shall be referred to by your suit's numerical designation. I will be addressed as "AWACS White Crane". Understood?]

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

AWACS White Crane

[Proceed to the marked location on your map. The exercise will begin shortly.]

I brought up the map on my HUD. A few clicks northeast was the area. It was surrounded by a variety of blue blips. I guess those were the JMSDF ships. We were about to arrive at the point when Chifuyu spoke again.

AWACS White Crane

[Okay, cadets. Now we shall see if all of you truly have what it takes to be in those Stratos Suits. The first UAV wave will begin in three...]

Welp. This was it. The final test. I hope she wished me luck.

AWACS White Crane

[...two...]

"Get ready, everyone!"

AWACS White Crane

[...one.]

* * *

BGM: Alect Squadron - Ace Combat X OST

* * *

Out of nowhere, several combat UAVs uncloaked a few meters north and flew straight toward us! We all scattered to avoid the gunfire and missiles fired in our direction.

"Holy shit!"

"Is everyone okay?"

I frantically looked around. The UAVs were now behind us and it looked like they were making a turn to attack us again!

"UAVs at our six!" Cadet 1 shouted. I looked at my TacMap and saw a large number of red triangles barrelling straight towards us at high speed.

AWACS White Crane

[Don't tell me you forgot how to use your weapons! Fight back!]

I heard Chifuyu order us. The more senior cadets decided to devise a plan so we could get rid of the UAVs.

"Everyone split into fours! We have to whittle down these things before the next wave!" Cadet 4 said.

"Hai!" we all replied. But another guy butt in.

"And then what?"

"We'll think of something after! Just take those drones out!"

The drones started firing on us as we flew off into groups of four. I found myself in a group with three girls, one of which was...

"Houki!" I exclaimed upon seeing her. She simply grunted in acknowledgement.

 _"So much for a hello,"_ I thought. Even in the middle of battle, seriously?

Six drones followed us as they opened fire. We flew in the same direction and dodged the bullets as best we could. However I noticed that the drones seemed to be targeting one of the girls more than us.

"Help me! They're on my tail!" Cadet 8 screamed.

"Sakai! C'mon!" Cadet 10 ordered as we followed her to take the drones down. I saw in my HUD that Sakai's shield was slowly depleting due to the multitude of bullets that she couldn't avoid.

I activated the aim mode for the shoulder-mounted .55 caliber MGs. My HUD displayed a targeting reticule as it announced the synchronization of the guns' aim to my helmet, so wherever I look the guns would point in the direction the reticule was. Cadet 10 fired a burst first, taking out two. Me and Houki followed suit, and we took out the the remaining four.

"Phew! Thanks!" Sakai said to us as she joined our formation and we headed to help out the rest of our squadron.

"Not bad, Orimura," Cadet 10 said to me as we flew beside each other. "Just doing my job."

(I swear I heard someone grunt in frustration after that.)

The other sixteen were busy engaging the other drones as we made our way to help them out. I remembered the 20 missiles that I had and decided to use them to take the drones out.

"Activating Lance missile tracking system," the suit's AI announced as I neurally commanded it. The missile launchers on my back flipped open as I marked targets.

"Firing missiles!" I announced as five missiles launched and flew towards six drones, destroying them. The other three were busy fighting off the drones as well.

AWACS White Crane

[You're doing well cadets. Expect the next wave soon.]

I was relieved to see that my entire class was still okay, and we were doing well enough to receive one of Chifuyu's rare compliments! However, I was expecting her to follow up with some criticism on how sloppy we seemed to be doing, but then again, no plan ever survives first contact as they say.

As we all finished off the remaining drones, I noticed some dark triangular figures heading for our position. For some reason, they didn't show up on our radars. Was this the second wave? I have to admit, those drones look very intimidating!

"Hey guys! I think I see the next wave of drones!" I pointed out to my class.

"Already? They really aren't letting up..." Houki said as she ejected a spent MG cartridge. We all braced ourselves for the next wave...

...but I realized that those weren't drones.

I zoomed in on the figures. They weren't UAVs, they were black jets with red markings on them.


End file.
